Root Cellaring

Fall brings many activities to the farm. One is digging roots and placing them in moist sand to keep for winter. We let roots grow as long as possible, but then when temperatures drop below 20 degrees, we need to get the roots out. We have tried mulching with limited success. If mulch is placed on the roots and it gets warm they rot. If the mice and voles dig under the mulch they feast on roots all winter and it is a sad discovery in spring.


So we use the root cellar - one Ken built for his own use in 1978. We fill it for our winter boxes and our own use. Ken digs the roots and hauls buckets of sand to the back door.





Then I move an empty barrel to the back of the root cellar and start to bury roots. At this point I have the celeriac, rutabagas, and beets packed in 30 gallon barrels.


Then I realized I should post this; here is the barrel for carrots. Start with a layer of sand in the bottom. Then place a layer of carrots on top of the sand.




Continue the process to the top of the barrel. I start with the nicer, larger carrots in this barrel, but have worked up to fairly small ones. There are still a few in the field, so I will ask Ken to dig them to see if they are large and nice enough to store. Then Ken will dig the radishes and I will do those.



Why do we do this? It is pretty labor intensive. But coolers take electricity which comes from fossil fuels AND and the carrots either dry out or slime up over time. So,if the sand is kept moist and if the window is opened or shut to maintain even temperature, the roots keep very well until spring.